Should Educators Be Concerned
What Supreme Court ruling held that children with limited English proficiency must be provided instructional help.
Lo.u.v Nichols, 1974/Lau v. Nichols
How did the Grandmother reaspond?
She became withdrawn. She had chronic headaches which often immobilized her.
According to the author, the family play contributed 5 things to successful functioning? What are two of these?
a sense of belonging, knowledge of who one is and where one comes from, an understanding of how one is connected to the important events in one's life, the ability to deal with adversity, and knowing one's responsibility to self, family, and community
In earlier times, the loss of the ethnic language occurred between the 2nd and 3rd generation. What is happening today?
Few current second generation immigrants can be described as bilinguals.
Who did the American born children learn English from?
their sister, Chu-mei
How did the author describe the things parents and other family members teach and inculculae in children in the socialization process "the _____________ of home"
the curriculum of the home
In present-day immigrant children, the learning of English is a subtractive process. What does that mean?
English quickly displaces and replaces the primary language in the young first generation immigrants.
What family member(s) were able to still communicate with the adults in Cantonese?
Chu-mei or Sondra
In the U.S., and other socieities like it, powerful social and political forces operte against the retention of minotiry langauges. What belief drives this behavior/attitude?
To many and perhaps more Americans, English is more than a societal language, it is an ideology. "to be American, one must speak English.
Describe Chu-mei's and Kai-fong's experience in school.
Chu-mei made friends and learned some English from then. Her adjustment was described as excellent. Kai-fong was teased by the boys about his hair and clothes. He got in trouble for rock throwing. He learned enough English to get by but he still remained an outsider.
What is the root of the tension in the household?
The adults do not understand the children and the children do not understand the adults.
Language loss is the result of both internal and external forces operating on children. Describe of internal force and one external force.
Internal: social inclusion, conformity, and the need to communicate with others. External: sociopolitical ones operating in the society against outsiders against differences, against diversity.
Describe Kai-fong's home experience regarding his language and wiht his family..
Once he learned a little English he stopped speaking Cantonese. He stopped speaking to his grandmother and was scolded by his parents for that. he started spending more time away from home and hung out with his buddies.
3 of the children's school experience was described as successful and 1 as unsuccessful. What questions did this situation lead the author to ask?
Can school provide children with eveything they need to learn through the formal education process?
What are 3 things that teachers can do to address this problem?
First - teachers can help parents understand that they must provide children opportunities to maintain their first language at home. Second, be aware of the traumatic expereiences children may be undergoing to fit in. Third, help parents understand the importance of community action to ensure ethnic languages and cultures survive.